


A Soft Place to Land

by dreamkist



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: Love, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Canon Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-14 14:44:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14771642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamkist/pseuds/dreamkist
Summary: The weight of Audrey’s many lives and the purpose that had been given to her were lifted, and Nathan didn't have to bear responsibility for the whole town any more.  They were carefree after everything they had been through.Duke reflects on life after the Troubles.





	A Soft Place to Land

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shopfront](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/gifts).



Being a ghost was an interesting experience. It gave Duke the opportunity to watch. So he watched _a lot_. He got to see the people of Haven live the lives they had always deserved. No Troubles to punish them or make them suffer. He watched Dwight who was in constant awe that he had another chance with Lizzie, he watched Vickie work on her art, and he watched Gloria do him proud at the bar.

“I’m telling you, Lois is not going to let you get out of there without pinching your cheeks,” he heard a familiar voice say.

Duke saw Audrey and Nathan and smiled to himself. They were exiting their house to sit outside. Duke thought they looked beautiful in the golden morning light, and he still couldn’t believe how fond he was of the two of them.

Nathan sighed at Audrey and looked unhappy, “Do I have to go?”

“You can’t disappoint your admirers,” Audrey smirked and pinched one of Nathan's cheeks, making him laugh and lose his unhappy look. They sat down at the small table and drank their coffee together.

Duke liked seeing them that way. The weight of Audrey’s many lives and the purpose that had been given to her were lifted, and Nathan didn't have to bear responsibility for the whole town any more. They were carefree after everything they had been through.

It was a simple thing in the end. Nathan thought he would never see her again, but one day he found Audrey near the edge of town. Duke was there too, watching. At first she didn’t remember anything of Haven or what had happened. Of course Nathan loved her anyway, and it was clear before her memory returned that she felt something for him too. Nathan’s patience paid off and slowly it all came back to her.

They stayed in Haven because it was home. They were able to live new lives free from the weight of the Troubles and the past. Nathan continued to work at the police station. Audrey had the chance to explore and finally find her own path which seemed to be social work. She was always taking care of people and that would never stop, but now she got to take care of herself too.

Duke was glad he got to see them like that–happy and unburdened. Everyone in Haven deserved to be free, but no one as much as them.

~

Duke didn’t expect to remain a ghost haunting the town. He thought he would disappear when the new barn was activated. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy or not that he still lingered. All he knew was that being incorporeal was not all that great when there were things and people he wanted to touch. It reminded him of that time he and Nathan switched bodies. Duke had only had to endure for a short time the way Nathan had existed for so long–without feeling. Duke wasn’t sure how long he could take being stuck, only able to watch the world go by around him.

No one could see him, not even Dwight any more. So, it was a surprise when one day he found himself suddenly whole and feeling the world around him again. He was on a cliff looking out at the sea and wishing he could be on his boat when he became aware of the ground beneath him and the clothes on his skin. He disbelievingly reached out and touched the nearest tree. He laughed as his fingers met the rough bark.

He knew it had to be because of Audrey and Nathan. And it was. It was because Audrey and Nathan believed.

Duke walked into town and felt love for everything–the road under his feet, the breeze across his skin, it was all beautiful. He saw Nathan's truck when he reached the town. He leaned against the side of the truck, ready to make an impression when Nathan came back to it.

He never thought he would see Nathan so happy, especially when Nathan was looking at him. But, when Nathan rounded the corner and saw Duke, his smile was ecstatic and damn it all if Duke didn't feel the same way seeing him too. The hug Nathan wrapped him in was firm, as if he was afraid Duke would disappear, and it felt like coming home.

Duke had to admit he was ready when Nathan pulled back, with his arms still wrapped around the taller man, to look in Duke's eyes before moving in for a kiss. It felt like they had been waiting a lifetime for it. It was a slow and sweet slide of lips that kind of made Duke want to cry and ask himself why they had never done that before. When they drew away from the kiss neither one of them let go for some time.

Nathan drove Duke to his house and when Audrey saw him she looked just as happy as Nathan had. Her kiss was just as sweet.

~

Duke stretched his arms above his head and turned his face up to the warm sun. He wiggled his toes in the sand. The sea was a gorgeous shade of blue, and the salt in the air smelled delicious. He was thankful he could feel those things again.

“Duke,” Audrey called to him from her chair. “Get over here.”

Duke rolled out of his stretch and made his way to the table. He dropped a kiss on top of Audrey’s head and one on Nathan’s before he sat down with them. “What’s this I hear about Nate’s admirers?” he asked the pair.

“Nathan’s going to speak at the senior center about phone scams today, and all the ladies there like him.” She grinned and lowered her voice to whisper to Duke, “It embarrasses him.”

“It’s not funny, Parker. They’re grabby,” Nathan complained.

Duke and Audrey laughed while Nathan morosely drank his coffee. They could always team up to tease poor Nathan.

Duke's mind drifted. Everything was how it should be, he thought, as he listened to them talk. He was home and with his family, who he loved more than he could describe. He didn’t entirely understand why they loved him back, but he wasn’t going to let them go now that he had them. He had been given another chance, and he was going to hold on to the people who mattered the most to him.

He smiled to himself because they were finally together, as they should be.


End file.
